Socket and reflector



E. M. LARKIN'S.

SOCKET AND REFLECTOR. APPLICATION FILED 00110. 1919.

1,392,510. Patented Oct. 4, 1921.

2 SHEETSSHEET 1.

E. M. LARKINS.

SOCKET AND REFLECTOR.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 10, 1919.

Patented 00th 4, 1921.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

RNEST ALL for securing the parts together.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE. A

ERNEST M. LARKINS, OF SOUTH BEND, INDIANA, ASSIGNOR TO GEORGE CUTTER COMPANY, OF SOUTH BEND, INDIANA, A. CORPORATION OF INDIANA.

SOCKET AND REFLECTOR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 4, 1921.

Application filed October 10, 1919. Serial No. 329,865.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ERNEST M. LARKINS, a citizen of the United States, residing at South Bend, in the county of St. Joseph and State of Indiana, have invented a certain new anduseful Improvement in Sockets and Reflectors, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to electric lighting fixtures of the type including a lamp socket, a reflector, and means for supporting them. The general object of the invention is to provide a construction which will make it easy for a single electrician, unassisted, to completely assemble the parts; also to provide a construction which will reduce to a 7 minimum the number of devices employed Another object is to provide a construction such that the reflector will have the appearance of being an integral portion of the unit. .It has been the usual practice heretofore to provide special members, such as set screws, screw rings, or the like, for the purpose of supporting the reflector, and ordinarily the reflector has been added as afinal step after the rest of the elements of the fixtures have been fastened together. One of the objects of my invention is to make a single job of it and to enable a single pair of screws toperlform the function of not only holding'the socket member to the stationary support, but also, to hold the reflector in position. Thus by tightening as few as two; screws or studs the insulating body, the ,reflectorand the supporting member will all be simultaneously fastened together and,'conversely, by removing as few as two screws the members may all be taken apart.

I accomplish my ob ects by the construction illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which- Figure 1 is a top plan View of a canopy which forms the support for the rest of the r .a cylindrical crown 18 terminating in an internal flange'19. Said flange overlies the structure.

complete device omitting the lower portion of the reflectorfl The planeiof section is indicated by the line 2-2,' Fig. 1. 1

Fig.3 is a bottom plan section on-th'e line 33,-Fig.-2. V Fig. at is a perspective view showing the principal members of the combination as they will appear prior toassemblage.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view looking from able material.

beneath, showing the supporting member or canopy and the insulating body which car-- parts throughduit and canopy for attachment to the terminals hereinafter described. The canopy has internalthreaded bosses 4, 4 on the ins1de'for taking the upper threaded ends of the screws 5, 5.

Next below the canopy is an insulating body,7 which has apertures 8, 8 for accommodating the screws 5, and is provided with a metallic shell or lamp socket 9 of usual construction. Said insulating body has two terminals 10, 10 adapted to be electrically connected to thelower end of the conductors by blnding screws 12, 12 or other suitable means. The insulating body or base socket 7 is also apertured to accommodate electric conductors 3 which pass down through to said terminals 1O,v 10. .Thus it will be evident that by leading the conductors down through said insulating body and fastening their lower ends to the terminals the body will be temporarily supported and the electrician mayproceed with other narts of the work Without paying any further attention to the insulating body for the time being.

Beneath the insulating body 7 is an insulating ring 15 of porcelain or other suit- By preference its external diameter is almost as great as the external diameter of the body 7. Said rin is verticallyapertured to accommodate t e screws '5. and is adapted to rest on the heads of the screws when the parts are finally assembled, as shown'in,Fig..2.

The reflector 17 has in the preferred form ring and forms a support for the reflector when the parts are assembled. The cylin- In the sameas of the insulating body 7 and lower portion of canopy 1, and hence the parts have theappearance of a solid unitary cy- -may COIIVGIllBIltlY dO if made of fiber, or

they may be in the form of nuts screwing on the screws, in which case the thread on the screws will be extended to a point nearer the screw heads.

In practice, the electrician first fastens the canopy 1 to a conduit or down pipe 2 and leads the conductors 3 down through the central opening of the canopy. He then takes the insulating body 7, brings it near.

the canopy and threads the ends of the conductors down through the apertures 8, after which he secures the ends to the lamp terminals by means of the binding screws 12. It will be evident that when he has progressed thus far the body or base 7 will remain suspended and the electrician need pay no more attention to it for the moment. He then takes ring 15, passes the screws 5 u through it and then slips the washers 23 own over the upper ends of the screws, whereupon they frictionally engage them.

The ring is now ready for assembling with the reflector and this is accomplished by passing the ring to the inside of the re-- flector and passing the screws and washers up through the notches 22 in the flange 19. The electrician then rotates the ring slightly about its central axis which brings the washers opposite to an imperforate part'of the flange. The operator may then take his hand from the ring and the washers and screws will support it from the flange of the reflector. The parts are now ready for final assembly and the operator accomplishes this by taking hold of the reflector or of the ring 15 and passing the screws up through the apertures 8 and into the threaded bosses 4: in the canopy. Ordinarily, the electrician will pass his arm up through the reflector, support the ring 15 on the fingers of his left hand and with his right hand place the screws opposite to the apertures in the canopy and then by manipulating a screw driver in his right hand will screw the screws home. When both the screws are thus tightened, the elements will all be rigidly and securely fastened together. Thusv it will be observed that a single operator with but a single pair of hands may conveniently and expeditiously fasten all of the parts of the lighting fixture, including the reflector, by the manipulation of but a single pair of screws. Usually a reflector alone requires the manipulation of one or more set screws, but with my construction two screws alone accomplish the entire results.

It will also be noted that in my construction the assembled device presents a very solid and unitary appearance for in the preferred design the diameter of the crown 18 of the reflector, the diameter of the insulating body 7 and the diameter of the lower portion of the canopy are all identical, and at a slight distance look as "ifthey were formed of the same piece. Furthermore, the metal of the reflector rises only part way up the device and does not en tirely cover it as is the case withcer'tain shade holders designed to support detachable reflectors. g Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In an electric lighting fixture, the coin bination of a canopy from which the electric conductors descend; a separate insulating base having a screw socket having terminals towhich the electric conductors may be conhected to thereby energize the terminals and temporarily support the base; upright fastening members adapted to be fastened to i the canopy, the base being apertured to accommodate the fastening members, and a reflector adapted to support the fastening members before they are fastened to the canopy and to be supported by the fastening members after they are fastened to the canopy, the base being adapted to be supported by the reflector, whereby the canopy, base and reflector are all finally supported and held assembled solely by said fastening members. 7

1 2. Anelectric lighting fixture having a canopy from which the electric conductors descend, a separate insulating body having a lamp socket and terminals therefor, the terminals being adapted to be connected to the conductors to be energized by them and ing devices for temporarily supporting the latter while said fastening devices are being fastened to the canopy.

An electric lighting fixture canopy from which the electric conductors descend, a separate insulating body having a lamp socket and terminalstherefor, the terminals being adapted to be connected to the conductors to be energized by them and temporarily supported by them, upright fastening devices adapted to pass through said insulating body and to be fastened to the canopy above, a reflector having a flange having a by which it may be supported, an insulating ring adapted to support the flange of the reflector, and means for temporarily holding the ring and the reflector assembled with the fastening devices, said fastening devices being adapted to finally hold the canopy, insulating body, reflector, and ring rigidly assembled together.

4;. In a device of the class described, the combination of a reflector having a flange at the top, said flangehaving notches in the edge, a canopy, an insulating body having an electric lamp socket, an insulating ring for supporting said flange, screws adapted to pass up through the rin and insulating body and into the canopy or being fastened to the latter and holding the parts assembled, and washers adapted to overlie the un-notched portion of the flange and adapted to engage the screws for holding the screws, reflector, and ring temporarily assembled.

5. In an electric lighting fixture, the combination of a canopy from which the electric conductors descend, upright screws adapted to screw into said canopy, an insulating body havinga lamp socket and terminals and having apertures through which the screws may pass, a reflector having an inturned flange with notches in it, an insulating ring adapted to rest upon the head of the screws, said ring having apertures through which the screws may pass, said ring being adapted to support said flange, and washers adapted to be fastened to the screws and to pass up through said notches and to overlie the flange when the ring is rotated relatively to the reflector;

whereby the electric conductors may ternporarily support the insulating body and the reflector may temporarily support the ring and the screws and finallybe supported by them when the parts are made fast.

6. In a lighting device a canopy having the supply conductors, a reflector, fastening screws for holding the parts assembled, the

canopy being threaded for taking the screws.

and said insulating body being adapted to permit the screws to pass from the reflector to the canopy, and means for temporarily supporting the screws on the reflector during assembly.

In a lighting device, a canopy having an opening passing down through it for the supply conductors, a separate insulating body adapted to lie adjacent to and beneath the canopy, said insulating body having terminals for engaging the lamp terminals, means for connecting the lamp terminals to the supply conductors, a reflector, and insulating ring, stud screws for holding the parts assembled, the canopy being threaded so that screws will screw into it, said insulating body being apertured to freely accommodate said screws, and means for temporarily supporting said screws upon said reflector and simultaneously supporting the insulating ring upon the reflector.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name.

' ERNEST M. 'LARKINS. Witnesses:

GILBERT T. DUNKLIN, EMIL E. HAWKINSON, 

